Femail explores how William has usurped his brother’s crown as the heart-throb of the Royal Family

Although all eyes were supposed to be on King Charles during the Coronation celebrations earlier this month, there was one member of the Royal Family who inadvertently stole some of the focus on his father’s big day.

As a teenager and in his early 20s, Prince William’s thick blonde hair and smouldering stare earned him prime position in the UK’s ranks of bonafide hearthrobs.

But it seems that following his touching speech at the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, the father-of-three (now in his 40s, and with considerably less of those blond locks) has won a new generation of adoring fans – and officially usurped his brother as the hunkiest royal.

‘How handsome is Prince William,’ one viewer tweeted. ‘He radiates love, warmth, confidence and humour.’

Another added: ‘If this isn’t HOT, I don’t know what is?’ 

‘William is hot as f***,’ a third joked. ‘I will not be taking any further questions.’

In recent years, the Prince of Wales had been somewhat overshadowed in the looks department by his younger brother Prince Harry – who won his own fanbase thanks to his trademark ginger locks and cheeky sense of humour.

Here FEMAIL charts the rise and fall of the brothers’ ‘hotness’ over the years – from Wills’ bulging bicep receiving his Covid jab to Harry’s confidence-boosting beard.

Not so awkward teenage years!

Most people spend their teenage years feeling awkward and uncomfortable in their own skin.

But it doesn’t seem as though the same could be said for Prince William. 

After graduating from Eton College, the 18-year-old royal embarked on a gap year in Chile – where he helped build houses and playgrounds through the organisation Raleigh International.

During his year abroad, the Palace released official photos of the royal enjoying his time in the village of Tortel.

At the time, the resemblance between Prince William and his late mother Princess Diana was striking. 

Official portraits showed the royal with a full head of fair hair – which clearly came from the Spencer side of his family.

Along with his passion for polo, Prince William had a lean physique as a teenager thanks to the manual labour he got involved in during his gap year.

When he returned to the UK in 2001, the young royal was accompanied by his father King Charles to St Andrews University – where he would spend the next four years studying Geography. 

As he toured the premises, Prince William looked effortlessly cool in a navy crew-neck jumper and shirt worn with some blue jeans.

In recent years, the 22-year-old photos have resurfaced on TikTok and sent viewers swooning. 

One wrote: ‘He was like a Disney Prince.’ 

Another added: ‘When I was young, he was my fairytale dream guy.’

‘HE’S SO FINE,’ a third gushed. 

While his older brother was embarking on his first year of university, Prince Harry was completing his final years at Eton.

The 17-year-old – who was also a keen polo player – wore his hair short while he was still at school before later growing it out.

It was around this time that Prince Harry lost his virginity to digger driver Sasha Walpole in a field behind The Vine Tree pub in the Wiltshire village of Norton.

The Duke of Sussex recounted the awkward encounter in his memoir Spare, which hit shelves earlier this year.

Although the royal was starting to have more luck with women in his late teens, it wasn’t until his early twenties that Harry caught up with Wills’ heart-throb status.

‘Hotness’ status: Prince William soars as Prince Harry remains a late bloomer.

Early twenties: Harry hits his stride! 

After leaving Eton with a D in Geography and a B in Art in his A-Levels, Prince Harry took a different path to his older brother and joined the Armed Forces.

However, the sporty royal did spend six weeks of his gap year teaching rugby to a group of 10 and 11-year-old pupils from Sheffield Primary School.

In May 2005, the royal joined the The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst where he received training as an Officer Cadet.

Photos of Harry taken from this time period also resurfaced on TikTok last year and sent royals fans into a frenzy.

‘FINE [AS],’ one commented on a viral video.

‘Wish he stayed in that era,’ another added. ‘Beautiful,’ a third wrote.

However in 2005, Prince Harry found himself at the centre of a media storm when images of him dressed in a Nazi fancy dress costume were published – thereby securing his image as the ‘Party Prince’.

That same year, Prince William graduated from St Andrews University and followed Prince Harry into military training in 2006.

The brothers made a dashing duo when they attended King Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding at Windsor Guildhall in April 2005.

Dressed in matching morning suits, the pair – who were aged 23 and 21 – looked equally as handsome for the occasion and delighted royal fans who had lined the streets of Windsor.

‘Hotness’ status: Prince Harry is hot on William’s tail

Late twenties: Wills sends fans wild with his beard

Prince William is known for almost always being clean-shaven – but back in 2008, the 26-year-old royal sported a short beard for a few months.

That Christmas, the Prince was pictured arriving for the Christmas church service at Sandringham with some serious facial hair.

When photos of the William’s beard resurfaced online last year, royal fans couldn’t help but swoon on Twitter.

One wrote: ‘Prince William with a beard was so hot.’ 

‘Looks a bit like Liam Hemsworth,’ another said. ‘He should definitely grow it out again,’ a third replied. 

Around this time, Prince Harry completed his first tour of Afghanistan and was flown out to Helmand Province for two months.

During his appearance on the Apple TV series The Me You Can’t See, Prince Harry opened up about how his time in the forces shaped him.

He said: ‘The happiest times in my life was the 10 years in the army. Without question.

‘Because I got to wear the same uniform as everybody else. I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom like everybody else.’ 

During his tour, Prince Harry gave an interview to the press – which was interrupted by a siren. The moment has since racked up millions of views on TikTok.

 ‘He gets his beauty from his mum,’ one viewer said.

‘Prince Harry is actually hot,’ another added.  A third added: ‘He’s so fine!’

‘Hotness’ status: Harry and William equalise

Early thirties: Wills becomes a family man as Harry earns his ‘party Prince’ stripes

 There’s no denying that 2011 was a life-changing year for Prince William. 

 In April, the royal married his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton in a live-streamed ceremony at Westminster Abbey which was watched by over 26m people across the world.

On the all-important day, the Prince of Wales looked especially dapper in his Irish Guards uniform.

At the time, the 28-year-old’s hair was only just starting to thin. During the live-stream, the royal couldn’t contain his pride over his new bride – who was a vision in a bespoke Alexander McQueen dress. 

Earlier this year, Prince Harry revealed that he was suffering frostbite on his groin during his brother’s special day.

While his brother settled into married life, Prince Harry was enjoying being single – having split from his on-off girlfriend of seven years Chelsy Davy.

At the time, the royal was sporting slightly longer hair and remained clean-shaven – only growing out his beard as he reached his mid-thirties. 

‘Hotness’ status: Harry catches up with William

Mid to Late thirties: Harry takes the lead over William

In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry discussed how much the beard he grew in his mid-thirties boosted his confidence.  

After his engagement to Meghan Markle was announced in 2017, the royal explained how he rowed with Prince William over whether or not he had to be clean shaven at the wedding.

He wrote: ‘A beard was thought by some to be a clear violation of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my Army uniform. Beards were forbidden in the British Army.’

In the memoir, ghost-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author J.R. Moehringer, Harry philosophises about whether his beard was ‘Freudian – beard as security blanket’ or ‘Jungian – beard as mask’. Regardless, he says that the beard made him feel ‘calmer’ and the Queen understood.

‘Yes, she said, you may keep your beard. But then I explained it to my brother and he… bristled?

‘Not the done thing, he said. Military rules, so forth.’

Harry said he gave his older brother ‘a quick history lesson’ with the help of Google – showing William images of Royal ancestors who were bearded and uniformed, such as Edward VII and George V.

When Harry said he had already been granted permission by their grandmother to keep the facial hair, William ‘became livid’.

Harry reports his brother saying: ‘You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.’

Harry adds that William ‘wouldn’t let it go’ and that the argument continued ‘in person, on the phone, for more than a week’.

It culminated, according to Harry, with William ordering him to shave his beard off.

Harry says he replied: ‘For the love of God, Willy, why does this matter so much to you?’

‘Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.’

Harry concludes: ‘Ah, there it was. After he’d come back from an assignment with Special Forces, Willy was sporting a full beard, and someone told him to be a good boy, run along and shave it. He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he’d been denied.’

What’s more, royal fans on Twitter have vocalised their love of Harry’s beard over the years too.

In 2018, one wrote: ‘Y’all, Prince Harry is just so hot. There, I said it. He grew up so fine especially with the beard.’

While watching the live-stream of their wedding, another added: ‘Just realized that PRINCE HARRY WITH BEARD IS SO DAMN HOT. I’ve gotta calm down. 

Elsewhere in his memoir, Prince Harry took aim at William’s receding hairline. 

In one chapter, the royal detailed his brother’s ‘alarming baldness’ and his ‘famous resemblance’ to their mother Princess Diana – which the Duke wrote was ‘fading with time, with age’.

‘Hotness’ status: bearded Harry overtakes William

Late thirties to Forties: William’s heart-throb status is restored

In February 2021, Prince William was dubbed a ‘hottie’ by royal fans as he showed off his bulging biceps while receiving his first dose of the Covid vaccine.

He was photographed being injected by NHS staff at London’s Science Museum, where former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was also inoculated.

The image, showing a masked William and two healthcare workers, was shared to the @KensingtonRoyal Twitter and Instagram accounts.

As William rolled up his sleeves to have the jab, many people took to social media to praise the father-of-three for setting a good example.

But several couldn’t resist admiring his bulging biceps, with one tweeting: ‘Check out those guns!’

Another remarked: ‘Duke working out! Nice!’ while one commented: ‘Ha ha, I was just thinking he’s looking pretty fit.’

And one tweeted: ‘Gosh his gorgeous… so glad he found a beautiful, caring wife and has a gorgeous family [sic].’ 

Earlier this month, the Prince of Wales was also dubbed a ‘DILF’ by royal fans after he delivered a touching tribute to King Charles at the Coronation concert in Windsor. 

The prince delivered his speech in front of a crowd of 20,000 revellers at the Windsor Castle gala where the royal family gathered en masse to watch singers such as Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

However despite his sentimental words, many viewers of the concert were distracted by the Prince’s handsome looks.

One commented: ‘If this isn’t HOT, I don’t know what is?’

Another wrote: ‘William is hot as f***. I will not be taking any further questions.’

A third added: ‘William is so hot, I’m sorry!’

A fourth wrote: ‘William is really a DILF!’

Heir to throne William also made a sweet reference to his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II after taking to the stage, adding: ‘I know she’s up there, fondly keeping an eye on us.’

He told his newly crowned father Charles: ‘She would be a very proud mother.’

Following the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir in January, a Ipsos Mori poll revealed that Prince Harry’s popularity has nose-dived among the British public. 

And it seems that the Duke of Sussex has also lost his heart-throb status in recent years too.

After his book was published, one Twitter user wrote: ‘Didn’t think Prince Harry could get any less attractive, tbh… But here we are – learning (against our will) about how Prince Harry got a ‘spanking as he lost his virginity’.’

Another mused: ‘Prince Harry has never looked less attractive.

‘Hotness’ status: Prince William comes up trumps